Courtesy of TITGLeft to right, Dan Cleveland, Zachary Centers and Adam Barrett perform a rap version of 'Othello' in the 2011 production of 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).' The trio will perform at Theatre in the Grove tonight through Oct. 7.

"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)," by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, finds three actors doing shortened parody versions of all 37 of the Bard's plays. After a successful single weekend last year, Forest Grove's Theatre in the Grove has brought it back for a full run, opening tonight and playing through Oct. 7.

Zachary Centers, 25, has the honor of playing Juliet, Ophelia and most of the young women. He plays more parts than the other actors. He's not sure how many. "Something like 20," he said, which necessitates a designated person backstage to assist with his costume changes.

"The actors come on stage smoothly and just appear in that costume," explained lead dresser Brittney Spady, who handles Centers' changes. "It's because we are frantic back stage."

"I think I lost 10 pounds last time we did this," said actor Dan Cleveland, who doesn't have much weight to lose. "I was in pretty good shape by the end of the weekend."

Spady said there's a "rigid system" of organizing props and wigs. Despite this behind-the-scenes structure, the play has a loose, spontaneous feel with plenty of audience participation.

In fact, Centers said that underneath and among all the characters, he and the other actors are essentially themselves on stage. In a production like this, he said, "You can't play a character playing characters. You've got to be yourself playing characters."

The ability to improvise and nail the timing "comes from the chemistry that we have," said Barrett. This is the third time he and Centers, who have been friends since middle school, have performed "The Complete Works," and the second time with Cleveland.

Centers' father, Ken Centers, directs. Last year, Zachary's mother, Pruella Centers, directed. The couple met at Theatre in the Grove in 1980, which means Zachary, who recently obtained a theater degree from Southern Oregon University, is back home, essentially performing in his living room.

Zachary is now the theater's youngest board member by 13 years. "You have all these people who were mentors for so long," he said, "and now they're your peers." Which makes it all the funnier to don dress after dress in front of them.

“The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m., through Oct. 7 at Theatre In The Grove, 2028 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove, 503-359-5349.